Bus Cook

James "Bus" Cook is an NFL sports agent.

James "Bus" Cook
Born
Man, West Virginia
Alma materUniversity of Mississippi
Occupation(s)Sports agent, lawyer
EmployerBC Sports Agency
Notes

Early life

Cook was born and raised in Man, West Virginia. Cook attended American University on a basketball scholarship. In 1970, he enrolled in law school at the University of Mississippi. He received his law degree in 1974 and began working as an attorney for Fairchild Construction Company in Hattiesburg, a job he held until he saved up enough money to open his own private practice in 1976. After ten years, he briefly looked into the possibility of representing NBA players, but that didn't work out and Cook had no further plans of venturing into the world of sports agency until he met Favre.[2]

Career

Cook's first client as a sports agent was Brett Favre, after the two hit it off playing golf in Mississippi. Cook's next client was quarterback Steve McNair.[3] In 2001, Cook negotiated the NFL's first $100 million contract, when Brett Favre signed a lifetime extension of his contract with the Green Bay Packers.[4]

Some of Cook's notable clients have included Calvin Johnson, Randy Moss, Marcedes Lewis, Adalius Thomas, Michael Turner, Jerious Norwood,[5] Tony Scheffler, Cam Newton, and Russell Wilson.[6] In 2014, Cook signed Jadeveon Clowney and Eric Ebron.[3]

Career controversies

Cook has been criticized for his involvement in the controversial career decisions of his clients, particularly Favre and Cutler in the 2008 and 2009 seasons.[7][8] Cook responded to these in an interview with Sports Business Journal saying:

"I heard I am trying to sell my business, I am not trying to sell my business. I don’t know who brings all these things up. I guess there are a lot of agents selling their businesses these days, or they are merging more than selling."[9]

Cook was at the center of Brett Favre's indecision on whether to retire during three straight NFL off-seasons from 2008 to 2010. In the summer of 2010, Favre mentioned to Ed Werder of ESPN that it was possible that he would need ankle surgery. Cook took exception to Favre's admission and was quoted in an interview in the August 2010 edition of Men's Journal as saying:

“Brett talked to goddamned Ed Werder at ESPN, says he needs ankle surgery. Now why did he do that? I’ve got (Minnesota Viking coach, Brad) Childress calling. I’ve got reporters calling all damn morning. Goddammit, why does he have to be such a goddamned drama queen? Play, don’t play, goddamn, people are getting sick of it. I’m getting sick of it! Why does he have to talk to these people? What good does it do? Ed Werder at ESPN! What’s he ever done for anybody other than say, ‘Look, look, Mommy, I got this first, ain’t I special?’ You got problems with surgery, talk to your wife. Why talk to goddamned Ed Werder?”[10]

Favre would respond that Cook's comments were taken out of context, and that Cook was "joking around," but also added that "the lesson to be learned in all that is, I hate to even say it, is that you can't trust anybody."[11]

References
  1. "Bus Cook". Forbes.
  2. "MSM Feature – Bus Cook, he's more than a "One Man Show" : Mississippi Sports Magazine". Archived from the original on 2010-10-30. Retrieved 2010-10-29. Mississippi Sports Magazine
  3. "Bus Cook's millionaire stable keeps growing". Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  4. "Favre Is NFL's First $100 Million Man". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  5. "Falcons agree to deal with free-agent RB Turner". ESPN.com. 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  6. "Bus Cook "irate" over report that new deal was requested for Russell Wilson". ProFootballTalk. 2013-01-20. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  7. "Bus Cook: Jay Cutler's Agent and Master Puppeteer". Nashville Scene. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  8. Geller, David. "Bus Cook, Sleaziest In All Of Sports?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  9. "Banner year shaping up for Bus". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  10. "Even Brett Favre's agent thinks Favre is a drama queen". NBC Sports. 19 July 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  11. "Favre talks about losing weight and Bus Cook's comments". 22 July 2010.
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